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Master Darque (Valiant Comics)
| Alignment = | Gender = | Birthplace = | Status = | Occupation = Necromancer | Family = Sandria Darque (sister) | Affiliations = | Creators = | First = Unseen but talking: ( ) Visual appearance: ( ) | Last = }} Master Darque is a 19th Century Necromancer who was born at the twilight of the 18th Century. He is psychically linked to his sister, Sandria, who was born three years after him, which makes them the psychic equivalent of Siamese twins. Early on, Darque and Sandia discovered that they possess the ability to levitate, which Darque refers to, along with other such abilities, as Family Powers (also known as the Darque Power. History Darque Genesis In 1840, Master Darque arrived in New Orleans, which at that time was still a world unto itself where people practiced voodoo as a religion, with an insatiable curiosity about the world. Consumed with the challenge to understand life and grasp its implications, Darque performed simple experiments that tested the nature of reality, which taught him an understanding of death that came at a cost. Back then Darque appeared to be only twelve years old, though his chronological age approached fifty, as due to the energy that he and Sandria consumed, which extended their life spans beyond what medical science recognized, they aged very slowly. With the knowledge he gained from the torments that inflected on small animals, Darque began to better grasp of the nature of life and sought the secret knowledge known to only a select few in Old New Orleans that went beyond voodoo. Certain that magic sprang from a logical and organic source, Darque wished to learn its origin, and a meeting with sensualist Anton Quigley, who studied the arcane arts and possessed the required knowledge but lacked the ability to call the power, gave him his chance. Eager to learn what Quigley could teach him, Darque became his willing pupil, and soon he surpassed all of his expectations. Darque’s new power attracted the attention of Anjenetta "Nettie" Grampion, a powerful New Orleans mystic whom some believed to be the legendary Voodoo Queen Marie Leveaux that, along with the Coven, a group of devotees of the mystic arts, recognized the threat he posed and decided that they had to stop him or at least keep his growing power in check. For that purpose, they transformed Maxim St. James into the first Shadowman, a champion that would challenge Darque. When Quigley agreed to become Darque’s mentor if he gave Sandria to him, Darque complied with the offer, which was not to Sandria’s liking. When Sandria turned on her brother’s mentor, Quigley slew her, so Darque destroyed him and then restored Sandria to life, but he endowed her with a heightened life force so that she might truly be alive again and not merely a zombie. Soon after Darque and Sandria survived their plan, the Coven and Maxim parted ways. The years passed, but Darque, who continued to make New Orleans his home but began to travel more widely in his attempt to gain a supernatural rapport with the world around him and whose greatly extended life span kept him young, continued to grow in his understanding of the things that Quigley taught to him. In 1977, as Darque accumulated power and fell under an uncomfortable scrutiny, he faked his and Sandria’s deaths and allowed the world to believe that they were buried at the old St. Louis No. 1 Cemetery in New Orleans while he went into seclusion to continue his assimilation of the world’s mysteries. Meanwhile, the Coven, who was aware that Darque’s ruse, made plans for a new Shadowman to counter their oldest enemy. Several years later, Darque learned of what he had come to call the Darque Power when he and Sandria sensed a great convergence of timelines in 1991. At that moment, the stones of the Earth spoke to Darque and told him of the superhuman being which had brought about the great release of energy. Although he understood little of what had brought about this vast new pool of necromantic energy, Darque did know that he had at last found what he had spent his life searching for; a tool to make himself all–powerful. Master Darque would have always existed without Phil Seleski, the hero known as Solar, but the creation of the Darque Power by the Man of The Atom gave the necromancer access to unprecedented power. When his attempted control of Solar’s mind was lost, Darque created Dr. Eclipse as a counterpoint to him to do his bidding. Although Solar’s power greatly exceeded Darque’s, he was far too innocent and noble to understand the lengths to which Darque would go. The Shadowman Before he found the Darque Pool, Darque played mor of a background role and gained a considerable number of minions, like Clemenceau, who gathered the Blood Runners (Death Runners) he required to wind up a spell that demanded the sacrifice of three times three times three. While observing Marty and two other minions dig out a pile of human remains in the cemetery, Darque saw Jack Boniface in his Shadowman Costume for the first time, and having grown tired of existence, he wished to know more about him as his arrival had given him an unexpected, but welcomed, challenge. Following Clemenceau’s orders, Marty took Jack to an old warehouse where 20 minions ambushed him at Darque's behest. Watching the fight from the shadows, Darque ordered Clemenceau to run Jack over with his car even if he had to run over his own men. After Clemenceau crashed into a truck and burned to death, Darque used the bones Marty dug up to bring him back to life as his servant. While Clemenceau retrieved Jack, Darque revealed to Sandria that he planned to steal the life force of those who willingly died for him to increase his power and attain Godhood. Feeling that the world had sullied itself through complacency, Darque believed that it was his destiny to clean it with evil. Relishing in his discovery that each time one of his Blood Runners died he gained a new power, Darque was eager to know what secrets would be revealed after Shadowman died. After Clemenceau brought Jack to Darque’s manor, Darque promised to grant him his desire for his music to shine in exchange of his willingly servitude. Using a voodoo doll to render Jack unconscious, Darque ordered Clemenceau to stand watch over him to find out how well they had persuaded him, while Sandria trusted that Darque noticed that he never persuaded Jack to say yes. Shortly, as Darque watched Jack fight Clemenceau to reach him, Jack recited a series of lyrics from the song the Seventh Son in response to Darque’s self–description of his powers and Sandria asked him if he feared Jack when he noticed that he seemed to draw strength from them. Admitting that perhaps he did and that he savored the new emotion, Darque set the house ablaze as they fled. When Jack’s girlfriend Margo died, Darque gained the ability of flight, a power he exhausted soon after. Back at his manor, Darque told Sandria that once his Blood Runners died he would gain ultimate power and asked her if she would try to stop him, to which she said that she would do whatever she choose to do as always, which he surmised meant she would use the Shadowman, who he would have to kill. When Jack began his death run after Darque fulfilled his promise to make his music shine, Darque became lost in a reverie as he absorbed the energies that he released. As Sandria revealed her attempt to save Jack, expecting to anger her brother, Darque mused that if Jack survived it would ignite a small spark of interest in his tedious existence. Though Sandria questioned what would happen were Jack to not wish to die, Darque felt certain that as he fulfilled his desires and they became lovers in death, he had become a devoted follower. Just then, Jack recalled that Elya told him he would not die until 1999, a memory that broke Darque’s spell over him and caused Darque to loose his focus and fall on the ground of his manor. As Sandria said that Jack had decided not to die, and warned Darque that she would oppose his quest for ultimate power, she reminded him that they had both spent several lifetimes studying the arcane and wondered why he used his knowledge to exert his will, so he said that he did it because it amused him and he could. As Darque walked away, certain that Jack would no longer matter after their "meeting in the air", when he no longer would absorb energy but energy would emanate from him, Sandria warned him one last time not to seek the universe for power lest if found him, but he ignored her and left. Two nights later in the Bayou, Darque hovered in mid–air above hundreds of his minions, who gathered to wait for him, and told them that the hour had arrived for him to give the world a new beginning with the life energy they had offered to him of their own will to undertake his task. Using his new–found abilities, Darque levitated the boats his minions were on used his energy to seek out those who offered themselves with the purest zeal. One by one, Darque absorbed the energy of the remaining three sacrifices he required to gain access to an entryway into worlds without end. When Darque called Scott, Jack’s friend, as the last sacrifice, Jack ran towards him across an energy field and lost focus when he grabbed hold of him. Though the portal closed, Darque refused to accept defeat, so he absorbed the life force of the hundreds of minions around him, energy that sustained his power for years afterward. Letting Jack fall into the swamp, Darque floated away musing that once he ran out of power he would do the same again. Sometime later, Darque, who had become bored, sensed a current of energy surging through the psionic net that attracted his attention and made him wonder who possessed the power to generate it. Unbeknownst to him at the time, what he sensed was a spell that Anjenetta had cast to force Jack and Aram Anni-Padda, the finest person she had ever known, to travel to New Orleans so that Aram would set Jack back on the path. Following the disturbance to the float barns, Darque came across Jack, Obadiah Archer, and Aram, who he had met long before when he was a child. After Aram continually insulted him with derogatory remarks like “pinky” and “slimy toad”, Darque set him on fire to demonstrate how much he had changed and then he left. Later, at the St. Louis No.1 Cemetery, Darque, who was linked to Jack through a slight psionic link that in times of crisis gave him a dim awareness of what he was doing, sensed strong emanations coming from the bayou and became aware that Anjenetta was trying to exorcised a demon from him. Unable to attend the ceremony due to a Coven block that would drain his power, Darque, much to Sandria’s chagrin, enlisted a group of New Age Nazis to kill Jack and those who dealt directly with him to stop Jack from harnessing the Darque power and free him from a virus that he created to limit his power. Darque later approached a guy called Herbert Kramer and offered to make his darkest desires happen in exchange for his obedience. Aware that Moondance (Kramer) wished to become Steven Tyler, Darque told him to bring him something that Tyler had worn and a lock of his hair. That evening, at the Paradiso Theater, Moondance delivered his goods to Darque, who promised to fulfill his desire to become the greatest rock and roll singer in the world. Shortly, as prepared a voodoo doll in Tyler’s image to conjure a spell, he called Jack after he set his apartment ablaze to let him know that he did it to attract his attention because he had a quest for him to undertake. Using telepathy, Darque warned Jack that Tyler would die unless he agreed to serve him, but Jack refused. Back at the Paradiso, Darque watched as Moondance and Tyler fought, then, after Tyler tossed the doll away from Herbert's reach, he picked it up and used it to kill Tyler to force Jack to serve him. Once Jack succumbed to Darque’s whim, Darque restored Tyler to life and burned the doll. When Jack eluded his quest, Darque had Zach Boniface lead him to Josiah Torrent’s grave, where one of his servants dug up his corpse. A snake charmer, Josiah Torrent seduced Jack’s mother, Sarah Boniface, with his power to charm snakes shortly before she was set to marry Zach Boniface. When Zach found out, there was a fight, and Josiah beat him very badly, but Zach got his friends together and they went after him. When they found him, they beat Josiah and buried him alive in an unmarked grave, where he died. Over 20 years later, Darque resurrected Josiah and set him loose in Beauregard, Louisiana, Jack’s birthplace. After Josiah had begun to kill the men responsible for his murder, Darque warned Jack to bend to his will or else the town and his parents would die as victims of his deceit and Josiah’s vengeance. Though Jack ultimately defeated Josiah, as his corpse turned to dust and snakes crawled out of his crevices and attacked the town’s people, one of them grabbed Sarah, who Darque threatened to kill unless Jack agreed to serve him. Ultimately, Jack surrendered to save his mother, and Darque brought back everyone to life except for Zach, whose death served as a reminder of what could happen to Sarah. The Future of Darque During Unity, Jack learned that Shadowman was destined to die a violent death in 1999 and rid the world of the Darque Power. However, the power was not the man, nor the man the power, and whether Master Darque could cheat this fate or not remained unrevealed. The Chaos Effect X-O Manowar Personality Powers and Abilities As a child Darque and Sandria possessed the power to levitate but not actual flight, but over time he learned the mysteries of supernatural persuasion, swift healing for him and others, limited telepathy, and a reduced but Geomancer–like rapport with the Earth that led him to seek the knowledge of true Geomancy. Darque’s talents are in a constant state of flux, with certain abilities coming and going, but by tapping into the vast necromantic forces of the Darque Power he greatly augments his abilities and gains the abilities of flight, pyrokinesis, reanimation of the dead, the power to kill and absorb a creature’s life force with a single word, and true telepathy. Despite Darque’s paranormal abilities, his greatest power comes from the vast knowledge that he has spent his long life accruing, and as time passes and more of the pieces of the puzzle fall into place, it is discovered that the powers Darque exhibits are simple manifestations of the greater hidden power within his mind. Darque’s limitations are those inherent to necromancy, but also include the personal frailties of the man himself. Necromancers have no power of their own but tap into the death energy of others, and blocking access to this is source possible. Because Darque is an albino, physical contact with others is painful, and it can interfere with his use of the Darque Power. Dubbed the Book of Darque, the tattoos upon his head and body each speak of a great evil he has committed and tell the story of his life. The condition of these tattoos gives some indication of his strength. When he is weak, the tattoos fade to indicate that he is vulnerable, or at least less dangerous, and when his power is strong, the tattoos stand out from his body and he projects them out to perform his will. Equipment Notes Appearances Gallery Shadowman-v1-7 008 Darque.jpg|'First appearance' Shadowman-v1-8 003 Clemenceau.jpg Shadowman-v1-8 004 Clemenceau.jpg Shadowman-v1-8 007 Dark Figure.jpg|'Dark Figure' Shadowman-v1-8 008 Darque.jpg Shadowman-v1-8 010 Darque.jpg Shadowman-v1-8 011 Darque.jpg|'Face revealed' Shadowman-v1-10 006 Sandria and Darque.jpg|'Sandria and Darque levitating' Shadowman-v1-10 007 Darque.jpg|'"Men with God-like power"' Sandria Darque Shadowman-v1-10 001.jpg|'"...what have you gained from this?"' Shadowman-v1-10 009 Darque.jpg|'Power' File:Master Darque Shadowman-v1-10 001.jpg Shadowman-v1-10 016 Darque.jpg|'Name revealed' Shadowman-v1-10 019 Sandria.jpg Shadowman-v1-11 008 Darque.jpg Shadowman-v1-12 004 Joe Mason.jpg Shadowman-v1-12 005 Darque.jpg Shadowman-v1-17 001 Darque and Sandria.jpg Shadowman-v1-18 005 Darque.jpg Shadowman Vol 1 20 008.jpg Shadowman Vol 1 21 005.jpg Master Darque Darque-Passages-v1-1 001.jpg|'Darque Manifestations' (from ) Master Darque Darque-Passages-v1-1 002.jpg|'Pin-Up' Shadowman Vol 1 29 001.jpg|'The Chaos Effect' Shadowman Vol 1 29 002.jpg Shadowman Vol 1 29 003.jpg Shadowman Vol 1 29 005.jpg Shadowman Vol 1 29 009.jpg Shadowman-v1-40 004 Master Darque.jpg|'Still feeling his presence' X-O Manowar Vol 1 62 007 Master Darque.jpg|'Darque Comeback' X-O Manowar Vol 1 63 004 Master Darque.jpg X-O Manowar Vol 1 63 006 Master Darque.jpg X-O Manowar Vol 1 63 007 Master Darque.jpg|'X-O Darque' X-O Manowar Vol 1 64 001 Master Darque.jpg X-O Manowar Vol 1 64 002 Master Darque.jpg X-O Manowar Vol 1 64 003 Master Darque.jpg X-O Manowar Vol 1 64 004 Master Darque.jpg X-O Manowar Vol 1 64 005 Master Darque.jpg X-O Manowar Vol 1 64 006 Master Darque.jpg X-O Manowar Vol 1 64 007 Master Darque.jpg X-O Manowar Vol 1 64 008 Master Darque.jpg X-O Manowar Vol 1 64 009 Master Darque.jpg X-O Manowar Vol 1 64 010 Master Darque.jpg X-O Manowar Vol 1 64 011 Master Darque.jpg X-O Manowar Vol 1 64 012 Aric vs Master Darque.jpg|'Darque's final hour' X-O Manowar Vol 1 64 013 Aric vs Master Darque.jpg X-O Manowar Vol 1 64 014 Aric vs Master Darque.jpg X-O Manowar Vol 1 64 015 Aric vs Master Darque.jpg X-O Manowar Vol 1 64 016 Aric vs Master Darque.jpg X-O Manowar Vol 1 64 017 Aric vs Master Darque.jpg X-O Manowar Vol 1 64 018 Aric vs Master Darque.jpg X-O Manowar Vol 1 64 019 Aric vs Master Darque.jpg Eternal Warrior Vol 1 6 Textless.jpg Quotes References External links Category:Necromancy Category:Flight Category:Regeneration Category:Telepathy Category:Pyrokinesis